Amusement apparatus.



C. L. BARNHART.

WITNESSES. lNVE/VTOH M L f/Wfff.fi027z%aff gum? ATTORNEY 7H5 NORRISPETERS 50., WASHINGTON. n.

PATENTED NOV. 27, 1906.

No. 836,799. PATENTED NOV. 27, 1906. C. .L. BARNHART.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 3,1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 24 6 THE NoRRls PETERS co-, wlsnmaron, p. c

No. 836,799. PATENTED NOV. 27, 1906. G. L. BARNHART.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION IILED NOV. 3,1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET a.

WITNESSES: 3 INVENTOH 5,41%; l 5 @flff/ZfiXfiQZ/Z/ZQZZ 9 4g" 6 BY l ATTORNE Y man, u. c. was Nomals PETERS ($0., WASHIN PATENT orrron.

CLARENCE L. BARNHART, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 27, 1906.

Application filed November 3, 1905, Serial No. 285,669.

To all whom, it may cortcern:

Be it known thatI, CLARENCE L. BARN- HART, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, in the city, county,and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Amusement Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention while relating to amusement apparatus has reference moreparticularly to that form thereof which is known to the art asmerry-go-rounds and razzle-dazzles, its object being to produce anapparatus of this character which while simple in construction andefficient in operation shall at the same time be automatically operatedby power applied thereto through the intervention of appropriatemechanism.

To these ends the invention consists in various constructions andcombinations of parts, of which the best form contemplated by me forcarrying it into practice is shown in the accompanying drawings,wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus embodying myinvention with certain of the parts shown in section and others brokenaway for convenience of illustration; Fig. 2', a side elevation thereofwith certain of the parts shown in section and in a different positionand others broken away; Fig. 3, a side view showing the upper portion ofthe supporting-standard, the upper portion of the main driving-shaft,and the shaft to which the moving platform is secured with the upper endof the supporting-standard, the upper end of the main driving-shaft, andthe collars to which the platform is secured illustrated in centralsection and the remaining parts shown in elevation; Fig. 4, a horizontalsection taken in the plane 4 4 of Fig. 3 looking downward; Fig. 5, ahorizontal section taken in the plane 5 5 of Fig. 2 also lookingdownward; and Fig. 6, detail vertical section of the platform, takenradially thereof and showing the means through which the suspension ofthe platform from its supporting-shaft is efiected, with one of thetubular struts or compression members shown in axial section.

In all the drawings like letters of reference are employed to designatecorresponding arts.

A indicates the platform which receives the persons to be carried, and Bindicates the standard by which the platform and its accessories aresupported. The platform A is preferably constructed in annular form andmay be built up from sections joined together or otherwise, as may bepreferred; but however constructed it is provided with railings a and a,respectively, arranged around its outer and inner edges and the railingsa equipped at appropriate points with passage-ways a*, through whichingress to and egress from the platform may be had when desired. Thestandard B in like manner may be constructed in various ways, it onlybeing essential that whatever its construction it be possessed ofsufficient stiffness and strength to firmly resist and withstand thelateral and vertical strains that may be imparted to it by the operationand weight of the apparatus and the load carried by the latter. In thedrawings, however, I have shown this standard as constructed in the formof a braced support with a tubular sleeve 1) at its upper end and fourseveral upright posts or struts b disposed around the same at equaldistances apart and firmly secured at their lower ends in the ground orto a suitable pier and their upper ends entering recesses b formed inthe sleeve 6, in which they are secured by screws 6 but this is merelyillustrative, and when this form of construction is adopted a greater orless number of posts or struts may be employed as the exigencies of theuse or the judgment of the constructor may dictate. For su' porting theplatform A upon the standard B, however the latter may be constructed, Imake use of a shaft C, which is provided at its lower end with a ball 0,that enters a correspondingly-shaped socket (1, formed in a collar (1,secured to or constructed upon the upper end of a vertical shaft D,which extends downward vertically through and finds a bearing in thesleeve 1) at the upper end of the standard B, as shown. As thussupported and carried this shaft C is provided with two collars cand 0which are located one above the other thereon, with the inner edge ofthe plat form A connected with the collar 0 through the intervention ofguys or rods 0 and the outer edge thereof connected with the collar 0through the intermediation of the guys or rods 0 In thus effecting thesupport of the each of these guys or rods is provided with a hook 0which engages with a suitable orifice 0 formed in its respective collar0 .or 0 while the lower end of the guys or rods 0 are severally passeddownward through suitable platform A from the shaft C the upper end ofIIO orifices formed in the platform A and receive on their endsappropriate nuts 0 The lower end of the guys or rods 0 on the otherhand, instead of being connected directly with the outer edge of theplatform are connected therewith through the intervention ofsuspending-brackets whereby they are carried outward sufliciently far topermit of a free passage beneath them on the platform. Thesuspending-brackets by which this connection is effected consist ofvertically-disposed rods or tension members 0 and tubular struts orcompression mem bers 0 Of these the rods or tension members c areprovided at their upper ends with hooks or overturned portions 0 withwhich the lower ends of their respective guys or rods 0 are engaged, andextending downward through the outer edge of the platform these rods ortension members are provided on their lower ends beneath the latter withappropriate nuts 0, while the tubular struts or compression members aincline outward from their lower ends and receive the overturned portion0 of the rods or tension members 0 in their upper end, with their lowerends held in place by rods 0",

which secured in the platform A extend upward therefrom at an outwardinclination and enter the lower ends of their respective struts orcompression members, as shown in Fig. 6. With the platform A thussupported upon the standard B not only is the platform capable of rotarymotion around its axis, but of a gyratory or wavelike motion as well,and in order to reduce the friction between the ball 0 and its socket dto the minimum when this gyratory motion takes place I find it desirableto interpose between the under side of the ball and the interior of thesocket a number of balls (V, to permit of which interposition Ipreferably enlarge the lower portion of the socket d to form a chamber11 therein for their reception and provide this chamber around itsupper. edge with an inwardly-extending annular shoulder d, whereby toprevent the escape of the balls therefrom by accident or otherwise.

For imparting a rotary motion to the platform A around its axis Ipreferably provide the walls of the socket d with vertical slots d whichare disposed in diametrical relationship therein and receive theprojecting pins or trunnions 0 that extend outward from the ball 0, asshown, and also apply to the shaft D at any appropriate point means bywhich a rotary motion may be imparted to it. The means through whichthis rotary I motion may be imparted to the shaft D may be of variousforms. In the drawings, however, I have shown it as consisting of abevelgear (1 which engages with a corresponding bevel-gear (i securedupon the end of the shaft d", to which latter a rotary motion may beimparted from any appropriate source of poweras, for instance, from anelectric motor or steam-engine. rotation of the platform A around itsaxis thus effected the apparatus may be employed as a merry-go-round,and in order to reduce the friction between the rotating shaft D and theupper end of the standard B to the minimum I preferably form in theunder surface of the collar (1 of the shaft D and in the cooperatingupper end of the tubular sleeve 1) correspondingly-arranged annu larV-shaped grooves 12 and dispose within them balls b as shown in Fig. 3.The number of these cooperating annular V-shaped grooves may be variedand in someinstances but a single pair of these grooves maybe employed.In the drawings, however, I have shown two pairs of these cooperatingannular grooves as made use of, but a greater number may be employed, ifso desired. When, however, the apparatus is to be employed as arazzle-dazzle, then in addition to the rotary motion of the platformaround its axis a gyratory or wavelike motion is imparted to it. Forimparting this gyratory movement to the platform various means may beemployed. I prefer, however, to impart it thereto from a shaft E, which.is or may be j ournaled in a suitable beam or support E above theapparatus and to communicate therequired gyratory movement to theplatform through the intervention of a disk or plate F, which issupported upon and rotated by the shaft E through a forkedshaped carrierE and is provided with a slot f, which receives the upper end of theshaft 0, that projects upwardly through the same. As thus provided,whenever rota- (Not shown.) With the I tion is imparted to the shaft Eand the upper end of the shaft 0 is thrown slightly out of the verticalby the tilting of the platform A the motion of the disk will cause theshaft C to gyrate around its lower end and through gyratory motionimparted to the platform modified thereby. In the form of the inventionselected for the purposes of illustration, however, it is made of an Sshape, whereby when the apparatus is in operation and the disk or plateF is rotating in one direction, with the upper end of the shaft C movingoutward from the center of the slot f to one of its ends, the gyratorymovement imparted to the platform will in consequence of the backwardcurve of the slot be characterized by a gradually-decreasing speed untilthe end of the slot is reached, when an accelerated movement will beimparted thereto. the other hand, when the disk or plate F is rotated inthe opposite direction the gyra tory movement will in consequence of theforward curve of the slot be characterized by a gradually-acceleratedspeed, as the shaft C travels from its vertical position toward one ofthe ends of the slot until the end of the slot is reached, when a slightretardation of the speed of the movement will be effected, and in orderto relieve the friction between the slot and the upper end of the shaftand reduce it to the minimum I find it desirable to equip the upper endof that shaft with a pulleys e and e, supplemented with open and crossedbelts e and 6, leading from any appropriate source of power, (notshown,) a suitable clutch a being employed to operatively connect one orthe other of these pulleys e or e to the shaft 0 and this maybe operatedto effect that result by any appropriate meansas, for instance, by ashipper-lever e With the parts constructed and operated as abovedescribed I preferably employ a stage or scaffold H, by which to gainaccess to the platform A and departure therefrom, the same beingprovided with stairs h h, which allow of ready and convenient ascentthereto and descent therefrom, and also with a circular well or chamberI in its center beneath the platform A, which well or chamber may beinclosed around its sides with a suit able curbing or casing a if sodesired.

In addition to the stage or scaffold H the apparatus may be providedwith appropriate brakes or supports, whereby the platform A may be heldstationarily in a horizontal position when required-as, for instance,when it is desired to pass from the scaffold to the platform, or viceversa-and which may be removed from operation when the rotation orgyration of the platform is to be eflected. These brakes or supports,however, constitute no part of my present invention and so have not beenillustrated, but are or may be the same as the corresponding partsillustrated in Letters Patent No. 539,717,which were granted to me May31, 1895.

WVith parts constructed and organized as above explained it will be seenthat I produce an amusement apparatus which, in ad dition to beingsimple in construction and capable of operation by power, may at thesame time be used either as a merry-goround, a razzle-dazzle, or both,as may be desired Although in the drawings I have shown and in theforegoing described the best means contemplated by me for carrying myinvention into practice, I wish it distinctly understood that I do notlimit myself strictly thereto, as it is obvious that I may modify thesame in various of its details and still be within the scope of theinvention.

Having now described my invention and specified one of the various formsin which it may be embodied, I claim and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States- 1. The combination, with a platform, and agyratory shaft from which it is suspended, of a vertical shaft to whichthe gyratory shaft is connected by a ball-and-socket joint, a support inwhich the vertical shaft is rotatively mounted, means by which thegyratory shaft is locked to the vertical shaft and caused to rotate withit, and means by which the vertical shaft may be rotated, substantiallyas described. V

2. The combination, with the vertical shaft provided with a socket anddiametrically-arranged slots at its upper end, a support in which thisvertical shaft is mounted, and means by which such shaft is rotated, ofa gyratory shaft provided with a ball and outward-extending'pins ortrunnions at its lower end for respectively resting in the socket andengaging with the slots in the upper end of the vertical shaft,substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a vertical shaft provided with a socket anddiametrically-arranged slots at its upper end, a support in which thisvertical shaft is mounted, and means by which such shaft may be rotated,of a gyratory shaft provided with a ball and outwardly-extending pins ortrunnions at its lower end for respectively resting in the socket andengaging with the slots in the upper end of the vertical shaft, achamber formed in the lower portion of the socket, and balls arranged insuch chamber between the ball on the lower end of the gyratory shaft andthe bottom of the socket, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a vertical shaft provided at its upper end witha collar in the upper end of which is constructed a socket and in itslower end is formed an annular groove or annular grooves, a supportprovided at its upper end with a sleeve in which the vertical shaft ismounted constructed with an annular groove or annular groovescorresponding to those in the lower end of the collar, balls arranged insuch grooves, and means for rotating the shaft, of a gyratory shaftprovided with a ball at its lower end for engaging with a socket, and aplatform suspended from the gyratory shaft, substan tially as described.

5. The combination, with a gyratory shaft, a support therefor, and anannular platform, of a series of guys or rods extendin from the gyratoryshaft to the inner edge of the platform, a second series of guys or rodsfor supporting the outer edge of such platform also extending from saidgyratory shaft, and suspending-brackets, consisting of tension-rods andstruts or compression members, for conneoting the lower ends of theselastmentioned guys or rods to the platform, substan tially as described.

6. The combination, With a gyratory shaft, a support therefor, and aplatform suspended from said shaft, of a slotted disk or plate withwhich the upper end of the gyratory shaft .engages, means by which thisdisk or plate is supported and rotated, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a gyratory shaft, 1 5 a support therefor, and aplatform suspended from such shaft, of a slotted disk or plate withwhich the upper end of this gyratory shaft engages, a shaft upon whichthis slotted disk or plate is supported, and means for sup- 2o portingand rotating this shaft, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 1st day ofNovember, 1905. CLARENCE L. BARNHART.

Witnesses:

WM. H. APPLETON, GRACE DIXON.

